tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3359348507190689090.post6176550442456642624..comments2023-07-03T05:58:37.124-07:00Comments on THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: Who's in the Driver's SeatThe Perimeter Primatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12619173438763495716noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3359348507190689090.post-47818731922187496892009-05-05T09:59:00.000-07:002009-05-05T09:59:00.000-07:00Figuratively speaking, "Too many cooks" is a big p...Figuratively speaking, "Too many cooks" is a big problem today with Public Schools.<br /><br />And some of those so-called "cooks" can't even boil water (again, figuratively speaking).<br /><br />Every outsider is an expert <br />these days.<br /><br />Naval Admirals get to fail at running school districts.<br /><br />A veteran teacher could run the Navy better than the Admiral has a school district (LAUSD).<br /><br />Portfolio managers become Gods of Education.<br /><br />Treating perceived "failure" with more FAIL----The logic of <br />the "reformers".niktohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13219069038917729013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3359348507190689090.post-2571742304270154192009-04-29T17:39:00.000-07:002009-04-29T17:39:00.000-07:00Kudos to Stuart Buck for articulating one of many ...Kudos to Stuart Buck for articulating one of many alternative views. That's one part of a democratic as well as a respected educative process. No harm in that. <br /><br />The bridge I see among any of these efforts rests on student academic achievement. That's a common dependent variable. No harm in that. <br /><br />Differences appear as to whether other efforts (community participation in decision making, etc.) are means or ends for schooling. No harm in discussing these differences. <br /><br />Probably, civil discussions will lead to changes in schools. Probably also, not everyone will be pleased with all of these changes. No harm in that either. <br /><br />Yes?Bob Heinyhttp://www.robertheiny.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3359348507190689090.post-33038856751179281632009-04-27T08:35:00.000-07:002009-04-27T08:35:00.000-07:00So much of commerce and big-business/stock-market ...So much of commerce and big-business/stock-market goings-on are actually about FEELINGS.<br /><br />You know, the FEELING that this junk paper I'm selling you is worth something, the FEELING that real-estate prices will forever rise, etc etc<br /><br />Commerce-based values are a poor standard to run society by, as proved by the economic meltdowns, both current and past.<br /><br />The more "business values" seep into other areas of society, the more society becomes corrupted, from our wars and foreign policy, to our environmental and energy policies, health-related policies, etc etc----All currently in a state of emergency/damage-control.<br /><br />Stuart Buck stands for exactly those "business values".<br /><br />He probably plays golf with a $1300 Platinum driver and has a nifty investment portfolio too.<br /><br />Educational services are now around 10% of US GNP!<br /><br />Folks like Buck helped <br />us get there.<br /><br />And they are not done yet.<br /><br /><br />-niktoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3359348507190689090.post-34094948164226836482009-04-25T10:08:00.000-07:002009-04-25T10:08:00.000-07:00The analogy Mr. Buck makes is pretty much ridiculo...The analogy Mr. Buck makes is pretty much ridiculous in nature. It does place education on a business model and states that this is what it should be. The tired old idea that a competitive business model would create better schools (ala Friedman) has done nothing for the betterment of our schools. How about a garden analogy? Let's say we see a garden, run down, overgrown with weeds, but still bearing fruits and vegetables. Do we bulldoze the garden and start over? Do we ignore it and start a garden next to it in the hopes that our garden will cause the run-down garden to suddenly start taking care of itself? Or do we invest some time and energy in weeding out the garden, helping the undernourished plants back to a better state and allowing that garden, with our help, to thrive?AVParodihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04875792642302052800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3359348507190689090.post-39348596639478688312009-04-24T14:10:00.000-07:002009-04-24T14:10:00.000-07:00One fantasy project that I may, or not, be able to...One fantasy project that I may, or not, be able to get around to doing is to tally up the amount of money these venture philanthropists have spent on their self-created non-profit recipients for their one special cause (“…transforming of K-12 urban public education…” by building, developing, and sustaining a network of charter schools, alternative teacher and educational leadership training programs, charter school real estate development organizations, charter school and voucher advocacy, and "research" institutions).<br /><br />Then my next step would be to make a list of other "causes" that could be labeled as due for reform, like immigration, drug laws, affirmative action, etc. Even the KKK’s philosophy is to push for something they see needing reform. Heck, I even read that some of its chapters are non-profit. For instance what if hundreds of millions of dollars had been spent on a network of KKK clubs, leader training programs, real estate development, KKK idea advocacy, and their idea of “research” institutions? <br /><br />So I am going to imagine what one would happen if one of those other causes had been the target for all the billionaires’ largess, and speculate how everyone would react. Of course, just as with the charter school business, if enough money had been spent on spreading disinformation through the media, most people would think their little project would be fine.<br /><br />Tom, I agree with your primary concern about the placement of pro-charter forces in education command centers and the reasons why, but their excessive lobbying and tremendous charter school support bothers me, too. We should all be alarmed that one very small group of people, because of their unfathomable and unprecedented relative wealth, now have unfathomable and unprecedented power as they push for a rapid breakdown and permanent transformation of the US school system, all in the name of giving “help.”The Perimeter Primatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12619173438763495716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3359348507190689090.post-42532689783166371972009-04-24T12:47:00.000-07:002009-04-24T12:47:00.000-07:00I don't have a problem with philanthropists fundin...I don't have a problem with philanthropists funding charter schools, lobbying, etc. What I do have a problem with is the accelerating trend of getting pro-charter/privatization people put in charge of public school districts. Or even if you don't literally have a "pro-charter" supe, you might have one who was coincidentally trained by Broad to implement a centralized command and control structure (i.e., the opposite of what's supposed to make charters effective) and a set of "reforms" which haven't been shown to actually increase achievements of <I>graduates</I> of your system.<br /><br />To use Mr. Buck's analogy, it is like Microsoft buying up Apple share and replacing Steve Jobs with Steve Ballmer. That's not competition and its a long way beyond advocacy.Tom Hoffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08577165613934129833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3359348507190689090.post-83028383859402084692009-04-23T21:05:00.000-07:002009-04-23T21:05:00.000-07:00It is revealing that Mr. Buck can only respond wit...It is revealing that Mr. Buck can only respond with a business analogy. I also find it disgusting that he begins his response with an ad hominem attack in which he reveals that he expects you to follow his reasoning, but he is incapable of following yours - "That said, I'm still not sure why people who, from their perspective, are trying to help should have to be limited to the few things that you would personally approve." <br />(Your point was not that Walton should support your personal wish list, but that if the rich were interested in helping more than dominating, they would work with schools rather than destroying them.)<br />The central conflict in the privatization issue has to do with whether you believe or not that a business model is the best way to deliver public services, whether they are bombs, letters, water, health care or kindergarten. We have heard Mr. Buck's flawed analogy many times already. What he did not do was directly address the central issue in your letter: who controls the schools in your neighborhood? <br />Since Mr. Buck works for gazillionaires who live in a heavily guarded bunker, we probably shouldn't be too surprised at his bunkered thinking.Tednoreply@blogger.com